Suryoday Small Finance Bank posts profit of Rs 39 crore for Jan-Mar

Net NPAs or bad loans declined to 1.55 percent from 5.97 percent in the same quarter a year ago.

Suryoday Small Finance Bank on Monday posted a net profit of Rs 39 crore for the March quarter of 2022-23 as bad loans fell. The bank had posted a net loss of Rs 48 crore for the same quarter a year ago.

Total income during Q4 FY23 rose to Rs 363 crore from Rs 257 crore in the same quarter of the previous year, Suryoday Small Finance Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Interest income also increased to Rs 329 crore from Rs 237 crore in the same period a year ago.

The lender's asset quality improved, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) significantly falling to 3.13 per cent of gross advances as of March 31, 2023, from 11.8 per cent a year ago.

Likewise, net NPAs or bad loans declined to 1.55 per cent from 5.97 per cent in the same quarter a year ago.

Thus, the bank made Rs 51 crore provisions for bad loans and contingencies as against Rs 112 crore put aside for the year-ago quarter.

For the full 2022-23, the bank earned a net profit Rs 78 crore against loss of Rs 93 crore in the previous fiscal, it said.

Commenting on the performance, Suryoday Small Finance Bank MD Baskar Babu said the bank's disbursements for FY23 stood at Rs 5,083 crore, a 44.1 per cent increase from Rs 3,528 crore in the previous year.

Looking ahead to FY24, he said, the bank aims to focus on growing gross advances by 30 per cent, deposits by 35 per cent, achieving a Return on Assets (ROA) of 2.2 per cent, and a Return on Equity (ROE) of 15 per cent.

Operationally, he said, the key areas of focus include product diversification, maintaining GNPA level below 2 per cent and NNPA level below 0.5 per cent, leveraging digital initiatives through multiple apps,